Abstract
The climate and global climate system are reviewed in terms of the characteristic physical processes which operate within and between its atmospheric, oceanic, cryospheric and land surface components. Together with conditions external to the system, these processes are responsible for both the maintenance and change of climate over time scales ranging from a season to geological epochs. The most critical aspects of climate simulation with either simplified or comprehensive models are identified as the parameterization of subgrid-scale processes, especially those involving convection, clouds and the surface boundary layer, and the coupling of the atmosphere and ocean. Further modelling and diagnostic research are seen as essential for an improved understanding of climate and its predictability.
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References
Gates, W. L., 1979: ‘The physical basis of climate.’ In Proceedings of the World Climate Conference, WMO No. 537, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, 112–131.
Global Atmospheric Research Programme, 1975: The Physical Basis of Climate and Climate Modelling, GARP Publications Series No. 16, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, 265 pp.
National Academy of Sciences, 1975: Understanding Climatic Change, Report of the Panel on Climatic Variation of the U.S. Committee for GARP, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 239 pp.
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© 1988 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Gates, W.L. (1988). Climate and the Climate System. In: Schlesinger, M.E. (eds) Physically-Based Modelling and Simulation of Climate and Climatic Change. NATO ASI Series, vol 243. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3041-4_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3041-4_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7867-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3041-4
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